Religious Studies
A Global View
Religious Studies: A Global Viewis the first book of its kind to survey the
field of Religious Studies from a global perspective. In ten chapters focusing
on specific geographic regions, a team of international contributors explore
the work that is being done in religious studies around the world. They
particularly focus on the work done in the last fifty years, and invite readers
to rethink their conceptions of what that study involves: its history, structures,
leading figures and key issues. Regions discussed include: Western Europe,
Eastern Europe, North Africa and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South and
Southeast Asia, Continental East Asia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the
Pacfic Islands, North America, and Latin America.
Key topics and themes discussed include the emergence of a global
community of Religion scholars, the influence of technology, the history and
institutionalization of the discipline, objects, methods and theories in the study
of religion, and the demarcation of the field.
Religious Studies: A Global Viewchallenges the assumption that serious
thinking about religion is solely a Western undertaking and aims to foster global
cooperation in the study of religions. It is the ideal resource for students,
researchers, lecturers and teachers interested in how the field of Religious
Studies is developing in contemporary academia.
Contributors: Gregory D. Alles, Gustavo Benavides, Patrice Brodeur,
Lee Chang-yick, Chung Chin-hong, Ezra Chitando, Eugen Ciurtin, Steven
Engler, Majella Franzmann, Satoko Fujiwara, He Guanghu, Sylvia Marcos,
Anatilde Idoyaga Molina, Paulo Barrera Rivera, Rowena Robinson, Vineeta
Sinha, Michael Stausberg, Renée de la Torre.Gregory D. Allesis Professor of Religious Studies at McDaniel College,
Westminster, MD, USA. He is co-editor of Continuum Advances in Religious
Studies.